


A Journey Lived

by Izzy_Uchiha



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Angst, F/M, Romance, Thriller, teen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzy_Uchiha/pseuds/Izzy_Uchiha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monsters don't hide underneath the bed or in the closet. They live inside of us and sometimes they win.</p><p>Aleeda Naveed learns that the hard way when she is forced to come face to face with the demons of her loved ones. Can she save them from themselves? Or will her own demons consume her?</p><p>This is the story of a journey; a journey of love, lose, betrayal, anger, hurt, healing and forgiveness. This is a journey lived.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Journey Lived

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Enjoy the story and please review. Thank you.

The name's Adeela Naveed. Well, I suppose this is the part where I tell you my life story, huh. I'll start with my painstakingly ordinary childhood but before we begin, I strongly suggest that you grab a bowl of popcorn and make yourself comfortable. Ready? Let's begin.

I was born on 25th February 1999 to Sarah and Naveed, NGO manager and IT manager respectively. We were a middle class family; a normal house, a small car and adequate money to fulfill our needs- well, some of them. In short, we were living an ordinary life in the small city, Lahore. I'll start from the age of five since the time before that is just an incomprehensible blur in my memory.

Anyway, at the age of five, my uncle gave me a German Sheppard for my birthday. He seemed to be almost the same age as me. I remember being fascinated by the little black and brown furred pup. We grew up together and somewhere along the road, he became a part of my family.

We did everything together; played, broke expensive and delicate items- by accident, I swear. At one time, I even remember trying to eat from my furry friend's bowl, I'm still not quite sure about the reason. Maybe it was because I thought it would be a bonding activity or something... my memory's a little fuzzy. Anyway, I did attempt to eat from his bowl so that would explain the extent of what we would do for each other... Kind of... not really.

Anyway, the dog- Jack stayed faithfully by my side through thick and thin for as long as he could. He never bit me, although he would put my hand between his teeth whenever he was thoroughly annoyed by my antics but he was always careful not to hurt me. He was my furry friend and protector.

I also remember the times when my parents would chide me and my pet with an exasperated smile whenever we would break something. The joyful memories were endless.

My dad- Naveed was a hard working man who worked endlessly each and every day to ensure that we had enough food on the table. We were a happy family but one day everything changed. It started out with shifting to another city but the situation only continued to get worse and worse. I still remember that awful day, the day our good luck washed away and chaos became a permanent member of our household.

It was 10th May 2008. The sun was shining brightly but it only served to dampen my mood. I was pacing back and forth in my front yard, worry coursing through every inch of my body. I couldn't help but frown at the sight of my parents helping some men load our stuff into their truck. We shouldn't be moving, it wasn't fair! I glanced down at Jack who was energetically bouncing and running around my legs, my eyes watered at the sight.

I didn't want to leave him right now, even if he would come later to live with us in Islamabad. Reaching down to pet him, some of my frustration melted away at seeing his eyes close in contentment when I scratched him behind the ear. "Come on, Adeela!" Dad yelled from near the house gate "We have to get going."

"I'm coming." I yelled back, voice cracking slightly as I tried to hold back a sob. Looking down at my best friend, I sniffled before suddenly leaning down to wrap my arms around his neck as I hugged him. Burying my face in his brown fur, my body shook with silent sobs and Jack nuzzled my neck in response. "I'll be back for you" I promised, softly as he tried to comfort me.

I stood up, wiping my tears quickly, before walking towards my Dad who was leaning against the bright red truck, with an apologetic and sad smile resting on his lips. "Why can't Jack come with us?" I asked misty-eyed, glaring at the truck. Knitting my eyebrows together in concentration, I tried to will it to stop working or magically transport the furniture back to the house but to no avail. It did nothing, just stood there as if purposely reminding me about the helplessness of my situation.

"Sorry we can't." Dad answered, firmly but not unkindly. I just ducked my head, knowing that it would be useless to argue with him. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes as I reluctantly sat in the back seat of our white car which was parked directly behind the dummy head truck.

"I'm sorry." Mom whispered, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. She settled into the front seat and Dad started the car. He looked back, draping his arm around mom's seat as he carefully backed out of the drive way. I looked longingly at our house, the peeling patches of blue paint and worn out roof seemed much more welcoming than the road ahead.

I sucked in a deep breath at the glimpse of our Gardner, Ali holding a barking and whining Jack by the leash. Leaning against the window, I let out a quiet whimper as Jack's face danced behind my closed eyelids. My heart squeezed painfully at remembering the series of emotions that had flickered in my companions brown eyes. Confusion, realization, hurt, betrayal. I shook my head slightly and placed a hand over my eyes as bolt after bolt of pain and regret shot through me.

"Time to say goodbye." Dad murmured. I opened my eyes at feeling the car skid to a stop. Sadness and Pain pooled in my stomach making it churn uncomfortably when I saw Nasir and Hassan sauntering towards us. They both shot us a smile but it didn't quite seem to reach their eyes.

"Hey" Nasir greeted us, lightly placing a hand on the car roof. Nasir and Hassan were orphans who came from a low class family. Their family had perished in a flood, leaving them alone to fend for themselves. They lived a couple of blocks away from us, in a house which they had inherited from their father. When we came to know of their situation, we started sending some money to them every month in an attempt to make their lives somewhat easier. In return, they started helping us around the house. Stubborn, the lot of them. They couldn't grasp the fact that we didn't expect anything from them in return.

However, they had become a part of our family. Hassan would often catch baby fish from a water body nearby and give them to me. So, you can imagine that my carelessness caused a lot of fish flushing.

Yikes- poor fish but in my defense I was an irresponsible kid. "Can't you wait another day?" Nasir pleaded though it was clear that he already knew the answer to that question.

"Sorry." Dad shook his head sadly "We're leaving today."

"Take care of yourselves." Mom continued, gently.

"Call every day." Hassan ordered making us chuckle despite the situation.

"Bossy." I drawled teasingly, trying to disguise my misery.

"Brat." He countered, ruffling my hair affectionately.

"We'll call you when we get there." Mom assured them as dad started the car.

"Goodbye." I whispered as we drove away from them. They waved goodbye, the sadness etched on their faces only served to fuel my own. To most people, this would seem like a hurried goodbye. I suppose in a way, it was but I could tell that the reason we left them so quickly was that if we continued talking to them than it would only fuel our reluctance to leave. And at the end of the day, we'd end up staying.

Leaning back against the seat, I watched the familiar surroundings glide by, of a place that I might never return to, of a place that I once called home. I grimaced, my gut feeling telling me that things were not going to get easier.

"You okay?" Mom asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah." I answered quietly, I hope, I added in my head as I watched the world fly by my window, dissolving into a colorful blur.


End file.
